I'm New Here And Already Not Finding Any Shops

So as you guys know, I'm pretty new to this mystery shoppers website/app. However, I have been doing mystery shopping from other sites before this one. I've always found mystery shopping to be rather fun, flexible, and less stress inducing than having an actual 9 to 5 job. Unfortunately, back in the past, I had to give up on that dream for a bit as I was unable to find any mystery jobs located in my current state (which I currently still live in) and had to take one of those boring 9 to 5 jobs. I really held out hope at the time to find more shops, or at least a couple of mystery shops, to apply for at the time, but nothing ever really showed up.

I have finally left that boring job after so many years and I was in the process of looking for another job when I decided to give mystery shopping another chance. This is how I found this site and app. Of course I was excited to know that mystery shopping is still happening and I was hoping to make some income, or maybe make a living off from being a mystery shopper. Alas, while trying to apply for shops to work for in my area, I have currently run into the same problem yet again, a message stating that there are no available shops in my area. I've even tried to apply for the web based phone shops as well, but I could only apply for a few of them since they are, for the most part, relatively the same shops. The only other way I can do the other shops is of I decided to move from my state and travel to one that has multiple shops. Which won't happen as the only way I could get there is if someone were to pay my expenses there.

I knew I wasnt going to make too much of a living as a mystery shopper, and I also knew that there wasnt going to be that many job offerings either. But is this still worth the trouble for me to search if there is not going to be any shops in my given location? Should I just uninstall the app and try my luck in getting another 9 to 5 job, which I'm certainly trying my hardest to stay away from, lol. Any answer would be amazing to me right now, because as much as I'd love to be a mystery shopper, hoping for more mystery shops that will never come would actually hurt me in the long run of you know what I mean.

i will give you a full response later. I don’t have time right now. There is far more mystery shopping than this.

Raynell-

It takes time to establish yourself, but folks do make a living doing this. I work full time and still made close to $25K + reimbursements mystery shopping last year. It would have been over $30, but I took it really easy the last three months. I know I could make at least $60K if I were to do this full time. You won't get rich doing this, but you can support yourself.

If you want to make a real "go" at this...

You need to sign up with about 200 companies.Only a fraction of them are in this site.

You need to get into video shopping. Video shops can have half the work and twice the pay.

Never flake on assignments. Always do great work.

The best paying shops are not published on job boards. When you establish yourself (see #3), MSC's will find you with the best opportunities.

Be ready to travel. Folks who do this full time will often spend weeks on the road shopping. Me? I'll drive 400+miles in a day - if the pay is right. Last summer, I flew to San Francisco for five days, had one day to play "tourist" and returned with a profit of just less than $2,000.

Learn the art of building routes. Don't leave home for a $15 shop across town. Heck, don't even leave home for $15. Instead, group five $50 shops that are along the same route. so that you can knock them all out before lunch. Those $15 shops? If they happen to be right next to your other shops and are pretty quick, yes, add them to your day. (I don't leave home unless my travel time, shop time plus report time doesn't come out to be $40/hr. Those who do this full time will say $60/hr.)

Patience. You are not going to get the bigger shops this week or next. I started getting them about six months into my shopping experience - that was a little less than three years ago.

As you get going, join forums social media groups, etc.

Drive a car that is very reliable and has fantastic gas mileage. My 2016 Elantra has $85,000 miles on it...

Reimbursements don't pay rent. If you want to make a living, you won't do by reimbursed for eating out. If you want to do a fine dining restaurant with a three hour report for a reimbursed meal and a $15 fee, go for it. But, do it because you want to go to the restaurant for a great dining experience. Consider:after a two hour meal and a three hour report, you are only making $3/hr - less it it is a drive.

Reimbursements, however, have their place. I never have to pay to have my oil changed, for instance - and I do need my oil changed every two months. This weekend, I did an oil-change video shop. I will be reimbursed $44 and paid an additional $55. I was on site for 25 minutes.

Thank you so much MFJohnston. This does give me hope that I'll be able to find work out there as a mystery shopper. I just need to change my strategy a bit on doing these shops, but from your very helpful suggestions, I might be able to make this work out for me. Again, thank you so very much!!!

I suggest visiting the MysteryShopForum. (Just Google it.) It is a forum all about mystery shopping, but run by shoppers and not sponsored by a particular company. You'll find a ton of information about the world of mystery shopping - beyond what iSS offers. There is also a list of well over 200 companies.